An outside development zone store overlooking San Tumas Bay in Marsascala, deemed “excessive and unjustified” by the Planning Directorate, was sanctioned by the Planning Authority yesterday.

The 33sqm agricultural store got the green light through the authority’s Rural Policy and Design Guidance approved in July 2014.

The policy provides for sanctioning ODZ structures that are visible in pre-October 1994 aerial photos following consultation with the Agriculture Advisory Committee, although they may not be in line with the requirements for new agricultural structures.

When consulted about the application, the Agriculture Advisory Committee remarked that it did not consider the sanctioning to be justified in view of the “relatively small landholding registered to the applicant (four tumoli) and the excessive store proposed for sanctioning”.

In fact, only farmers tilling 20 to 40 tumoli of arable land within the same region qualify for a store of a comparable footprint.

The agricultural committee concluded that the building was not “considered a genuine need for agriculture” and was “surplus to the farmer’s need”.

Another objection was registered by the authority’s Environment Protection Directorate.

“The Environment Protection Directorate is significantly concerned with such proposals in the countryside due to their significant cumulative impact on the quality of the environment.”

Such developments were leading to significant take-up of undeveloped rural land in unspoilt rural areas with adverse impacts on the rural character and the overall natural state of the area.

The design was “not akin to a typical storage building for agricultural use, which normally seeks to maximise internal storage space,” concluded the environment directorate.

Although consulted, the Natural Heritage Advisory Committee failed to submit its reactions within the stipulated timeframe.

In view of these objections, the Planning Directorate recommended refusing the application.

However, the Planning Commission approved the application, referring to the 2014 rural policy.

The applicant was ordered to remove the structures that were not visible in the 1994 aerial photo and to plant a Judas tree and a holm oak.